U.S. stock futures inched higher Wednesday night as investors brace for more inflation and labor data, following a volatile session spurred by the release of the August consumer price index.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 68 points, or 0.18%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures inched 0.19% and 0.27% higher, respectively.
Investors are coming off a choppy session, after a late-day advance in tech shares helped the major benchmarks rebound from their lows. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 1.07%, even after falling more than 1% on an intraday basis — a first for the broader index since October 2022.
At the same time, the 30-stock Dow gained 124.75 points, or 0.31%, after losing as much as 743.89 points earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite closed 2.17% higher, making a comeback from a decline of more than 1%.
Stocks dropped earlier in the day when August’s consumer price index showed an uptick in core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices. The reading spooked investors hoping for a half-percentage point cut from the Federal Reserve at its Sept. 17-18 meeting.
“The inflation report that we saw today is confirming a trend that we’ve acknowledged over the past couple of months, where now that the Fed is — and I think appropriately so — focused less on inflation and more on economic growth, that completely changes market reactivity,” Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist at New York Life Investments, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday.
“It means that now good economic news — and I would include today’s inflation report as relatively good news, a little stronger than the markets were expecting — that’s going to be good news for the market,” Goodwin continued.
Wall Street is anticipating the release of the August producer price index on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate a rise of 0.2% last month in the headline and core readings, up from 0.1% and 0.0% previously.
Initial jobless claims data for the week ending Sept. 7 is also on deck, and is expected to have slid to 225,000, down from 227,000 the previous week, according to Dow Jones.
On the earnings front, Kroger is slated to report results before the open on Thursday. Adobe will release its quarterly report after the close.
European markets open higher
European stocks rallied at the open Thursday as investors in the region await the latest monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 1.07% in opening trade, with all sectors and major bourses trading in the green. Tech and mining stocks jumped 2.5% and 2.05%, respectively.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to slash rates again by 25 basis points on Thursday, a move that would mark the first cut since June, when it described the potential for a September reduction as “wide open.”
— Karen Gilchrist
Oxford Industries shares fall after hours
Shares tumbled more than 9% in extended trading after Oxford Industries posted fiscal second-quarter that missed expectations, and issued disappointing guidance.
The high-end clothing company behind Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer posted adjusted earnings of $2.77 per share, lower than the FactSet consensus estimate of $3 earnings per share. Revenue of $419.9 million came in below the $438.2 million forecast.
Stock futures open lower
U.S. stock futures inched lower Wednesday night.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 28 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.09% and 0.19%, respectively.